A contemporary motor vehicle, such as the modern-day automobile, consists of thousands of individual components. It has been, and remains conventional practice in the automotive industry for the vehicle body (or frame) to be built as an open structure into which are fitted and fixed all the constituent parts and equipment of the vehicle. A continuously moving conveyor, which is part of an overall mass production assembly line, carries the vehicle assembly through an assortment of work stations where various parts are fitted to the vehicle assembly to ultimately produce a completed vehicle.
In modern vehicle assembly operations, it is customary to preassemble the individual components of the vehicle chassis, such as the engine, transmission, differential, and suspension, before marrying them with the vehicle frame in a “Body-on-Frame” or “Body Frame Integral” construction. The vehicle frame is typically oriented using an overhead hanger-type conveyor system, whereas the chassis components are supported by a fixture pallet or tooling plate. One or more precision locating and lifting apparatuses operate to arrange the chassis components into position beneath the moving body, and raise the chassis components into position for assembly with the body. Once the locating apparatus lifts the part to an elevated position, it is secured to the vehicle body. In the alternative, the vehicle body may also be lowered on top of the chassis components.
The vehicle body-chassis marriage application generally requires precision location of the constituent parts prior to the actual marrying with the vehicle frame. It may be desirable, for example, to support a particular component in an orientation which corresponds to its in-vehicle orientation, and in a manner which enables access to particular locations, such as bolt holes, used to attach the component to the vehicle. For instance, the vehicle engine or powertrain (e.g., engine plus transmission) may have specific support structures that are used for the purpose of presenting the engine or powertrain to the vehicle body in a manner which facilitates attachment of the engine or powertrain to the vehicle body.
In such applications, a static locating pin assembly may be employed to position and support the fixture (e.g., engine, transmission, differential, transfer case, etc.) to facilitate subsequent installation to the vehicle. Static locating pins are often used in collaboration with a tooling plate that is designed for setting and transporting fixtures and the like. Such plates conventionally include a base having a top surface with a plurality of accurately located slots or bolt holes formed therein. A typical locating pin assembly may include a static pin having a chamfered head, and a shaft that is rigidly attached to a base. The base, in turn, has a flange that is then either press fit or lock-screwed at a precise location along the locating surface of the tooling plate. The chamfered head of the locating pin is intended to locate and engage holes that are formed at pre-specified locations on the fixture to ensure proper orientation and support thereof.
Tooling plates used in high volume production applications are generally style dependent. As such, a change in vehicle configuration often requires a redesign and re-manufacture of the tooling plate. For example, the attachment points of the fixture and/or vehicle may vary within a single platform, or from platform to platform. Each variation may require its own tooling plate layout. Tooling plates are expensive and time consuming to manufacture because the plate material and machining tends to be expensive, and each opening must be very accurately located with relation to the other openings to ensure proper fixture orientation. In a similar respect, prior art support pins are of a fixed length, and thus must be replaced to accommodate new vehicle design specifications.